Ian Fowles is an American musician, author, and actor, best known as the current guitarist for the Orange County rock band The Aquabats, in which he performs under the stage name and persona of EagleBones Falconhawk (originally Eagle "Bones" Falconhawk). Prior to joining The Aquabats, Fowles was also one of the founding members of the

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier p ...

band

Death by Stereo Death by Stereo (also referred to as D.B.S.) is an American hardcore punk band formed in Orange County, California circa 1998 by frontman Efrem Schulz. They are well known for their energetic performances and intricate guitar work. Their name ...

Biography

Early life and Death by Stereo

Fowles grew up in Orange County, California, and started playing guitar in his early teen years, having been inspired by seeing the guitarist character of Marty McFly in the film ''

Back to the Future ''Back to the Future'' is a 1985 American science fiction film directed by Robert Zemeckis, and written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale. It stars Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover, and Thomas F. Wilson. Set in 1985, ...

''. By age 14, he was regularly playing in local punk bands, including one band called CleanX, who opened for The Aquabats in the late 1990s. In 1997, Fowles put together the original formation of Orange County hardcore punk band

, naming the band, designing its logo, and writing/recording on the band's early demos and EPs. In late 1998, Fowles left the group to serve a two-year

mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

for the

LDS Church The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The c ...

in Ohio. Though he didn't record on Death by Stereo's debut LP ''

If Looks Could Kill, I'd Watch You Die ''If Looks Could Kill I'd Watch You Die'' is the first release by American hardcore punk band Death by Stereo, released in 1999 via Indecision Records. It is highly acclaimed in the hardcore community for its originality and raw sound, tight dru ...

'', he was given writing credits on nine of the album's fourteen songs, many of which had appeared on earlier demos and EPs.

The Aquabats

In 2006, Fowles joined the

Huntington Beach Huntington Beach is a seaside city in Orange County in Southern California, located southeast of Downtown Los Angeles. The city is named after American businessman Henry E. Huntington. The population was 198,711 during the 2020 census, maki ...

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

-themed comedy rock band The Aquabats as a full-time member, succeeding longtime guitarist Corey Pollock (aka "Chainsaw, the Prince of Karate"). His stage name was conceived in The Aquabats' van during his first tour with the band: "Bones" was derived from his slender stature, while the bird names were playing off his surname's similarity to "

fowl Fowl are birds belonging to one of two biological orders, namely the gamefowl or landfowl (Galliformes) and the waterfowl (Anseriformes). Anatomical and molecular similarities suggest these two groups are close evolutionary relatives; together ...

". Fowles first started writing and recording with the band in 2007 on original songs for the

children's television series Children's television series (or children's television shows) are television programs designed for children, normally scheduled for broadcast during the morning and afternoon when children are awake. They can sometimes run during the early evenin ...

Yo Gabba Gabba! ''Yo Gabba Gabba!'' is a children's musical television series created by Christian Jacobs and Scott Schultz. The series is about five costumed toys come-to-life and their friend DJ Lance Rock (Lance Robertson). It is co-produced by Magic Stor ...

'', on which he also appeared onscreen with the band and played a guitar solo as part of the show's "Cool Tricks" segment. He later made his album debut with The Aquabats on their 2010 EP ''

Radio Down! ''Radio Down!'' is an EP single by American band The Aquabats, released on November 9, 2010. Overview In early 2010, The Aquabats announced plans to release their next studio album by the end of the year, eventually confirming a tentative rel ...

''. From 2012 to 2014, Fowles portrayed Eaglebones Falconhawk in two seasons of The Aquabats' live-action cable television series ''

The Aquabats! Super Show! ''The Aquabats! Super Show!'' is an American action-comedy musical television series which aired from March 3, 2012 to January 8, 2014 on The Hub Network and resumed as an independent YouTube web series in September 2019. The series was created ...

'', on which he also worked composing original songs as well as bits of the series'

score Score or scorer may refer to: *Test score, the result of an exam or test Business * Score Digital, now part of Bauer Radio * Score Entertainment, a former American trading card design and manufacturing company * Score Media, a former Canadian ...

. Starting in September 2019, he has since continued this role on the series' independent YouTube-based relaunch, ''The Aquabats! RadVentures!''.

Other musical endeavors

Fowles has played live and/or recorded with a myriad of other projects, typically spanning the genres of

pop punk Pop punk (or punk pop) is a rock music genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop. It is defined for its emphasis on classic pop songcraft, as well as adolescent and anti-suburbia themes, and is distinguished from other pu ...

and

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commercial ...

. While attending high school in the mid-1990s he played in the bands CleanX and D-cons. In late 2000 he formed a short-lived 1980s pop tribute band called The Electric Youth that featured friends from Esperanza High School

Brandon Saller Brandon Kyle Saller (born June 24, 1983) is an American musician, singer and multi-instrumentalist. He is the lead vocalist, keyboardist and former drummer of the metalcore band Atreyu. He is responsible for the melodic singing found in the b ...

Atreyu Atreyu is an American metalcore band from Yorba Linda, California, formed in 1998. The band currently consists of clean vocalist Brandon Saller, guitarists Dan Jacobs and Travis Miguel, bassist and unclean vocalist Marc "Porter" McKnight, and ...

and Nathan Willett of

Cold War Kids Cold War Kids is an American alternative rock band from Long Beach, California. Band members are Nathan Willett (vocals, piano, guitar), Matt Maust (bass guitar), David Quon (guitar, backing vocals), Matthew Schwartz (keyboards, backing vocals, ...

. In 2003 he was the touring guitarist of

Sense Field Sense Field was an American post-hardcore band from Southern California, formed in 1990. Originally consisting of vocalist Jon Bunch, guitarist Chris Evenson, guitarist Rodney Sellars, bassist John Stockberger, and drummer Scott McPherson, the ...

. In 2005–2006 he toured as the guitarist of

Further Seems Forever Further Seems Forever is an American rock band formed in 1998 in Pompano Beach, Florida. Over its initial eight-year run the band experienced several lineup changes, resulting in a different lead vocalist performing on each of their first three ...

. Among the groups he has collaborated with are Checkpoint Charley,

, and

Dead Sara Dead Sara is an American hard rock band from Seattle, consisting of Emily Armstrong (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Siouxsie Medley (lead guitar, backing vocals), and Sean Friday (drums, backing vocals), best known for their single "Weatherman" f ...

. In 2007, Fowles played bass for

AFI AFI may refer to: * ''Address-family identifier'', a 16 bit field of the Routing Information Protocol * Ashton Fletcher Irwin, an Australian drummer * AFI (band), an American rock band ** ''AFI'' (2004 album), a retrospective album by AFI rele ...

member

Hunter Burgan Hunter Lawrence Burgan (born May 14, 1976) is an American multi-instrumentalist. He is the third and current bassist of AFI. Biography Burgan was born in Los Angeles County, California and grew up in Grass Valley, California. He is a vegan. ...

's side project Hunter Revenge, who accompanied The Aquabats on their winter holiday tour that year. In 2013 he also played bass with

Kepi Ghoulie The Groovie Ghoulies were an American pop punk band from Sacramento, California, United States, whose music took inspiration from horror movies. They released numerous albums, EPs, and singles, and toured internationally. The band's name was ...

s band when they toured with The Aquabats on their holiday tour. In June 2015, Fowles and Aquabats drummer

Richard Falomir Richard Timothy "Ricky" Falomir is an American musician and composer, perhaps best recognized as the current drummer for the Orange County rock band The Aquabats, in which he performs under the stage name and persona of Ricky Fitness. Biograp ...

played in former

Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United St ...

bassist C. J. Ramone's band for an East Coast tour with

Shonen Knife Shonen Knife is a Japanese pop-punk band formed in Osaka in 1981. Influenced by 1960s girl groups, pop bands, the Beach Boys, and early punk rock bands such as the Ramones, the band crafts stripped-down songs with simple yet unconventional lyr ...

. Fowles has continued to play guitar for C.J. Ramone from time to time since. In August 2014, Fowles was revealed to be the guitarist for former

My Chemical Romance My Chemical Romance (commonly abbreviated to MCR or My Chem) is an American rock band from Newark, New Jersey. The band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist Gerard Way, lead guitarist Ray Toro, rhythm guitarist Frank Iero, and bassist ...

frontman

Gerard Way Gerard Arthur Way (born April 9, 1977) is an American singer, songwriter, and comic book writer. He is best known as the lead vocalist and co-founder of the rock band My Chemical Romance. He released his debut solo album, ''Hesitant Alien'', ...

's solo project, recording guitar and percussion for Way's debut album ''

Hesitant Alien ''Hesitant Alien'' is the debut studio album by Gerard Way, lead singer of the American rock band My Chemical Romance, released in the US on September 29, 2014 and on September 30 worldwide. It was officially announced in May 2014, although demos ...

'', appearing in the music video for its single " No Shows", and doing all the live touring with him during 2014–2015.

Personal life

Fowles is

left-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subject ...

, and currently plays a left-handed Fender Squier Vintage Modified

Jazzmaster The Fender Jazzmaster is an electric guitar designed as a more expensive sibling of the Fender Stratocaster. First introduced at the 1958 NAMM Show, it was initially marketed to jazz guitarists, but found favor among surf rock guitarists in th ...

model guitar with The Aquabats and a left-handed Fender Kurt Cobain Jaguar model with Gerard Way. In 2022 he released the "Falcolndrive" pedal for guitars, based on his signature overdriven sound. Like fellow Aquabats bandmates Christian Jacobs and

Chad Larson Chad Albert Larson (born October 27, 1965) is an American musician, best known as the co-founder and bass guitarist for the Orange County rock band The Aquabats, in which he performs under the stage name and persona of Crash McLarson. From 2012 ...

, Fowles is a practicing

Latter-day Saint Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into sev ...

. He is also a doctoral student at

Claremont Graduate University The Claremont Graduate University (CGU) is a private, all-graduate research university in Claremont, California. Founded in 1925, CGU is a member of the Claremont Colleges which includes five undergraduate ( Pomona College, Claremont McKenna ...

, where he studies at the School of Religion. In November 2010, Fowles published his first book, an extension of his master's thesis entitled ''A Sound Salvation: Rock N' Roll as a Religion'', a thesis which argues that rock music and culture satisfy an influential definition of "religion" in contemporary religious studies.

Bibliography

*''A Sound Salvation: Rock N' Roll as a Religion'' (2010)

Filmography

Television

Discography

Gerard Way

*''Dasher'' single (featuring Lydia Night) (2018) – guitar *'' Baby You're a Haunted House'' single (2018) – guitar *''Pinkish/Don't Try'' 7" (2016) – guitar *''

'' (2014) – guitar, percussion

Extra Arms

*''Up From Here'' (2019) – guitar solo on title track

Kepi Ghoulie

*''Lost And Loving It'' (2016) – guitar *''Valentines Day 7"'' (2015) – guitar, producer

The Aquabats

*'' Kooky Spooky...In Stereo'' (2020) – guitar, vocals *'' The Aquabats! Super Show! Television Soundtrack: Volume One'' (2019) – guitar, bass, lead and backing vocals *''

Hi-Five Soup! ''Hi-Five Soup!'' is the fifth studio album from American band The Aquabats, released on January 18, 2011 by Fearless Records. Overview In interviews leading up to ''Hi-Five Soup!''s release, lead vocalist Christian Jacobs (The MC Bat Commander) ...

'' (2011) – guitar, backing vocals *''

'' (2010) – guitar, backing vocals

Checkpoint Charley

*''Pomp, Twaddle & Bombast: Songs 13–24'' (2018) – guitar *''Songs One Through Twelve'' (2005) – guitar

Death By Stereo

*''

'' (1999) – writing credits on tracks 3,5,6,7,8,9,11,12,13 *''Devil's Night'' – Live Compilation 7" (1998) – guitar *''Fooled By Your Smile'' 7" (1998) – guitar *''Demo'' Cassette (1998) – guitar

D-Cons

*''The Operation Room'' CDEP (1998) – guitar, backing vocals *''Can't Pull My Strings'' 7" (1997) – guitar, backing vocals *''Fed Up Demo Tape'' (1996) – guitar

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fowles, Ian American Mormon missionaries in the United States American punk rock guitarists American rock guitarists American male guitarists American male writers American male television actors The Aquabats members Death by Stereo members Living people Guitarists from California Claremont Graduate University alumni Latter Day Saints from California Year of birth missing (living people) Further Seems Forever members